Defense Language and National Security Education Office (DLNSEO) 2023 Boren Awards for International Study Abroad

Scholarships and Fellowships focusing on geographic areas, languages, and fields of study that are critical to U.S. interests and underrepresented in study abroad.

Boren Awards are funded by the National Security Education Program (NSEP), which focuses on geographic areas, languages, and fields of study deemed critical to U.S. national security. Applicants identify how their study abroad programs or overseas projects, as well as their future academic and career goals, will contribute to U.S. national security, broadly defined. NSEP draws on a broad definition of national security, recognizing that the scope of national security has expanded to include not only the traditional concerns of protecting and promoting American well-being, but also the challenges of global society, including sustainable development, environmental degradation, global disease and hunger, population growth and migration, and economic competitiveness.

Boren Scholars and Fellows study throughout the world, including Africa, Asia, Central & Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin America, and the Middle East. The countries of Western Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are excluded.

Boren Scholars and Fellows represent a variety of academic and professional disciplines, but all are interested in studying less commonly taught languages, including but not limited to Arabic, Chinese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, and Swahili.

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• Table of Content
• About Defense Language and National Security Education Office (DLNSEO)
• DLNSEO Boren Awards for International Study Abroad
• Aim and Benefits of DLNSEO Boren Awards for International Study Abroad
• Requirements for DLNSEO Boren Awards for International Study Abroad Qualification
• Application Deadline
• How to Apply

About Defense Language and National Security Education Office (DLNSEO)

Boren Awards for International Study David L. Boren is the principal author of the legislation that created the National Security Education Program and the Boren Awards, the scholarships and fellowships that bear his name. In arguing in the U.S. Senate for passage of NSEP, Boren expressed his view that the U.S. needed a large increase in experts in the languages and cultures of nations which were underrepresented in the number of U.S. students studying there. With changes in the world, Boren felt that the U.S. would work more and more through partnerships with other countries whose nee... continue reading

DLNSEO Boren Awards for International Study Abroad

Aim and Benefits of DLNSEO Boren Awards for International Study Abroad

Boren Scholarships provide up to $25,000 to U.S. undergraduate students to study abroad in areas of the world that are critical to U.S. interests and underrepresented in study abroad.

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What are Boren Fellowships?

Boren Fellowships provide up to $30,000 to U.S. graduate students to add an important international and language component to their graduate education through specialization in area study, language study, or increased language proficiency. Boren Fellowships support study and research in areas of the world that are critical to U.S. interests.

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Requirements for DLNSEO Boren Awards for International Study Abroad Qualification

The majority of eligible students will apply for Boren Awards to fund overseas language study programs that they have identified themselves. Program design guidelines differ slightly where noted for undergraduate Boren Scholars and graduate Boren Fellows.

All applicants must be:

• U.S. citizens at the time of the national application deadline
• A high school graduate, or have earned a GED
• At least 18 years of age or older at the time of the national application deadline
• Planning an overseas program in a country outside of Western Europe, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand
• Planning to study in a country of which they are not a citizen
• Matriculated for the duration of their Boren Awards-funded program in an undergraduate or graduate degree program located within the United States and accredited by a body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education
• (For ROTC cadets and midshipmen and members of the military Reserves or National Guard) In inactive, non-drilling status for the duration of their Boren Awards-funded program

In addition to these basic eligibility criteria, the Boren Awards give preference to programs based on their duration, focus on intensive study of a preferred language in a preferred country, and the applicant’s field of study.

Boren Fellows have additional guidelines for self-designed research, internship, and study programs. They are also eligible to receive funding for domestic summer language programs immediately prior to their overseas study.

A specific subset of Boren Scholarships applicants already enrolled in The Language Flagship may receive funding for their Capstone year abroad. They use the same application as other applicants.

Boren Awards Preferred Fields of Study

Application Deadline

How to Apply

 To be considered for Boren Awards for International Study Abroad, applicants should please submit the application online.

The Boren Awards fund the intensive study of language and culture abroad by U.S. undergraduate or graduate students. All eligible applicants have the option to either apply for a Regional Flagship Language Initiative or select/design their own study program

For more details visit: DLNSEO website.